Invisibility
by Hisa-Ai
Summary: He was only invisible, the warlock had simply meant to make his life a tad bit inconvenient for a while, not hurt him. "Magnus, call me when you get this; you're usually home way before I am, and I didn't get a text or see a note or anything, so just… let me know you're okay; send a fire message if you have to, just… I need to know you're alright, alright? I love you."


_Invisibility_

* * *

*.*.*.*.*

Magnus could have undone the spell—if he had really and truly wanted to. He could have found some way or another to either break it or persuade someone more capable or with the proper tools and ingredients at their disposal to break it _for him_. But, well, why bother when the spell would be undone within hours—by the end of the night, really, it would all be over and done with, so why bother wasting all that energy and time when it really wasn't necessary at all?

Besides, the side effects of this little… mishap simply meant he would get to get away from everything for a few hours. He could relax in his loft, have a nap, have a drink, wait for the spell to break and for his Alexander to get home. Hopefully, if there was any justice in the universe at all, the spell would wear off around the same time that Alexander returned home, otherwise it was going to be more annoying, more frustrating, more of a pain in the ass than he was hoping it would be.

But hopefully the spell would just wear off before then.

*.*.*.*.*

He'd had a nap. That was all he had done with his time, like, well, this. It had been fairly easy to tell himself he was only going to sleep for a short while before he got up and saw to other things that needed doing while he was unexpectedly at home, but once he fell asleep, he simply hadn't been able to make himself wake up until he heard the telltale sounds of the front door opening, of the soldier's walk through the house that indicated that his Alexander was home.

 _Oops_.

Well, no witness no crime, he supposed, no one else knew he had had so much free time to himself that day and had done little with it, so it was _fine;_ he forgave himself, so it was _fine._

He stretched his hands above his head and glanced up at them… and _still_ didn't see anything. He pursed his lips, annoyed and frustrated that the spell hadn't worn off yet; perhaps the pissed off warlock from Chicago who had cast it on him had been more powerful than Magnus had thought he was…

The spell would _still_ wear off, of course, it would just… take a little longer than Magnus had anticipated it would. Which would have been just as well, except that Alec was _home_ now and he wouldn't be able to see Magnus, which meant he wouldn't be able to kiss him hello or tell him about his day.

And that was decidedly _not_ fine at all.

Magnus _could_ have told Alec about what had happened, and they could have navigated their evening until the spell wore off, but, well, if Magnus told Alec this was the result of him pissing off some warlock or another—through absolutely no fault of his own, he maintained—Alec might insist on remedying the situation immediately, would panic and maybe get pissed off and would want to fix it to get Magnus back to normal as soon as possible.

And of course, he would want to have _words_ with said warlock, which would eat up the entire rest of their evening _anyway._

And Magnus really and truly didn't think it was quite _that_ serious at all. So he was invisible for a few hours—he had truly been subjected to worse things in the scheme of things.

His only alternative to not having to worry poor Alexander was to just. Not let him know he was there. Which felt sneaky and wrong and almost like a lie, but, well, he wasn't really doing anything wrong, was just laying in bed, waiting for a spell to wear off. He could fall back asleep, he thought, eyes already drooping—being invisible was really taking a lot out of him, somehow—and surely by the time he woke back up he would be very much so visible again.

"Magnus?" Alec called, walking into the bedroom finally and looking around with a frown on his face, lips pursing as he scanned the room and saw, well, nothing. "Guess he's not home yet," he muttered to himself a moment later, kicking off his shoes just in the doorway.

Magnus frowned to himself and immediately felt guilty about the whole situation, about the disappointed look that Alec had on his face at the realization that Magnus wasn't there. Either way, he realized, Alec was going to be worried about him; either way, it was a lose/lose situation.

And sure, Alec couldn't see him like this, but he could still talk to him, and Magnus hoped that just knowing he was there until he could see him again would suffice, would get that God awful frown off his love's face—if there was one thing he absolutely could not stand for, it was Alec having that disappointed and sad look on his face—and because of Magnus, no less.

He absolutely could not stand for such a God awful sort of thing.

"Alexander, honey?" Magnus said then, sitting up on the bed, his own frown deepening when Alec went about his routine like he hadn't heard Magnus.

Maybe he was lost in thought, Magnus thought, watching Alec pick through the closet and pull out a change of clothes, stripping down to his boxers where he stood, because if Alec knew he was there, he would _absolutely_ have put on more of a show about stripping down, tired from a long day or not.

"Can you hear me, love?" Magnus tried again, voice loud enough that he _knew_ Alec should be able to hear him.

And still, Alec paid him no mind, didn't even glance in the direction of the bed before he walked into the bathroom, and Magnus heard him run the shower, with no mention of an invite for Magnus trailing after him.

Magnus absolutely should have _figured_ that that damned warlock would make it so he couldn't be heard any more than he could be seen at the moment—what an absolutely childish _bastard_. Magnus was going to have words with him his damn self after this little spell wore off.

Asshole.

Well, he could hardly sleep _now_ , knowing that Alec was home and he could neither hear nor see Magnus—this was simply a predicament that would have him tossing and turning anyway, making his attempt at getting more sleep futile. He supposed he would just have to settle for going about as if he _wasn't_ invisible, then. As soon as Alec was done in the shower, he would follow him out to the couch where he would read over his mission reports for the day until either his eyes got tired and he switched on the television, or until he simply turned in for the night.

But if that stupid spell hadn't worn off by the time Alec was ready to go to sleep, Magnus was going to raise _hell._

Alec was walking back into the bedroom by the time Magnus had thought as much, ruffling his hair with a towel in that tempting way of his before he tossed the towel back into the bathroom, hitting the hamper before Magnus could open his mouth to yell at him that he had _better_ make it.

"Magnus? You home yet, babe?" Alec yelled, running a hand through his hair as he did, frown back on his face.

Magnus had the feeling that he was going to have to suffer through seeing that look on Alec's face all night, and that was absolutely the most upsetting feeling there could ever be.

"Guess not," Alec muttered to himself, walking over to grab his phone out of the pocket of the pants he had dropped to the floor before.

Magnus could only guess in the moment before the phone was to Alec's ear who he was calling, and he wondered, as Alec stood there making the call, if his phone would actually ring or if it too had been affected by the spell; it _had_ been in his pocket at the time it had been cast, had caught him completely off guard because Chicago warlocks were _assholes,_ though that was a bit less here than there at the moment.

"Magnus, call me when you get this; you're usually home way before I am, and I didn't get a text or see a note or anything, so just… let me know you're okay; send a fire message if you have to, just… I need to know you're alright, alright? I love you, come home soon," Alec sighed into his phone, slipping it into the pocket of the sweat pants he was currently wearing before he walked out of the room finally.

Magnus swallowed down the guilty feeling in his throat as he stood from the bed, wondering if he _could_ send a fire message like this or if it would all fall flat. He supposed he _could_ use his magic like this—maybe, anyway, he hadn't tried it, but, well, he saw no reason why he couldn't; he was only made invisible, the warlock had simply meant to make his life a tad bit inconvenient for a while, not hurt him.

He looked down to the bed he had just gotten up from and snapped his fingers to make it back up, relieved in a way he hadn't known he'd needed to be when it did exactly as he had wanted and made itself.

He trailed after Alec into the living room finally, and wondered to himself over what he could do to let Alec know he was _there._ He could perform some magic, but, well, the problem with not being able to communicate with Alec about it was that he could very well assume it was any number of other warlocks doing it, and he would call Magnus' cell to let him know about it, and he would grab his bow and arrow from by the front door and spend the rest of the evening hunting down a threat that didn't actually exist in the loft.

Had Magnus mentioned how much he absolutely _loathed_ warlocks from Chicago?

Alec was already settled in on the couch with his mission reports sprawled out on the coffee table in from of him when Magnus made his way into the room and had a seat on the other end of the couch, absolutely _irked_ when the couch didn't shift at all under him, when Alec didn't glance in his direction to indicate that he noticed another presence.

Alexander was a _fine_ Shadowhunter, how could he _not_ feel another presence in the room, how could he not _know_ that Magnus was right there on the couch with him? Was his guard really that far down in the loft, or was he just… so used to Magnus' presence in it that he didn't even notice he was around even when he thought he wasn't?

Alec had his pen tucked between his teeth in a habit that Magnus knew he had picked up from Simon and Clary; Simon when he was scribbling down conspiracy theories or song lyrics, and Clary when she was sketching, trying to think of what else she would need to do to make whatever she was working on look its absolute best.

Though Alec would be hard pressed to actually admit that was where it had come from, it was a habit he hadn't picked up until he was made Head of the Institute, until he had started spending more time with the pair of them. So it was either all the stress he was under, leading to him needing to pick up some sort of new habit to help deal with his anxiety and said stress, or it was him subconsciously picking up the habit of two of the more important people in his life, and Magnus' bet was assuredly on the latter.

Magnus didn't know that he had ever just… sat and watched Alec like this before. They had often sat side by side doing their respective work before, of course, and Alec had spent plenty of time sitting idly by and watching Magnus when he was lost in his craft—and God, Magnus _did_ love the goofy grin and twinkle Alec got in his eye when he was watching him—but Magnus didn't think he had ever returned the favor. There had simply never been the time.

But there was time _now_ , and Magnus settled himself further into the couch and watched Alec as he tiredly scanned the mission reports and clucked under his tongue over this mistake or that mistake, scribbling notes every now and then. Every once in a while, his pen hesitated as he seemed to be weighing whether or not he _really_ wanted to write whatever it was he was about to write.

He always wrote down whatever it was anyway, despite his initial hesitance.

Magnus was starting to regret that he had never done this before, had never marveled over the little way Alec held his pen, or the way he pursed his lips when he was reading, frown lines taking over his forehead when reading the mission reports from either his parabatai or newer shadowhunters—both of whom did stupid things and whom Alec wanted to kill for said stupid things.

But _he_ still did his fair share of stupid things himself, so Magnus knew he didn't fault them completely for it.

(Well, except for Jace, but that was just because he was _Jace.)_

Paper work wasn't the most glamorous aspect of the job, but Alec still did it diligently, still did it wonderfully, still looked beautiful whilst doing it.

He really was born to be Head of the Institute, and Magnus was so incredibly proud of him for it.

After scanning what Magnus could only assume was yet another one of Jace's reports, Alec let his pen drop to the table and leaned back on the couch, rubbing his temples as he did so. There was only so much of Jace that one could handle at a time, Magnus knew all too well.

He reached for his phone blindly, then, and checked it, both for the time and to see if Magnus texted or called him back yet—which he, very obviously, had not.

"Magnus, where are you?" he muttered, dropping the phone to the couch next to him once again.

"Right here, darling," Magnus muttered in response, though he knew that Alec couldn't hear him anyway.

The soft sound of paws on paperwork had Alec and Magnus both looking to the coffee table, then, to see Chairman Meow walking across the table, across Alec's work, and then jumping up onto Alec's lap without a care in the world.

"Hey, buddy," Alec cooed, reaching down to pet him in a show of affection for the cat that Magnus had never witnessed before.

He had thought that that cat had absolutely _hated_ Alec and vice versa, and yet here they were, not hating each other. Magnus wondered then, if they only hated each other when they were both vying for Magnus' attention, and were two peas in a pod when Magnus wasn't there to compete over.

God, his boyfriend was _absolutely adorable._

"You don't happen to know where Magnus is, do you?" Alec asked Chairman, though the cat only meowed in response. "That's what I thought," he sighed as Chairman curled himself up in a ball on Alec's lap, settling himself in for a nap, Magnus knew. God, what he wouldn't give for a _picture_ of this moment.

He would have to settle for a memory, he supposed.

"I'm really getting worried about him—you think I should go out and look for him?" Alec continued, fingers working themselves over Chairman carefully, lazily. "I wouldn't even know where to start—New York is so fucking _big,_ nevermind the fact that he might not even be in the city, he could be anywhere in the world. I hope he's not _hurt_ —I'll kill him if he's out there not returning my calls or texts because he's too busy getting himself beat up," he vowed vehemently.

And God, how that made Magnus _laugh._ Alexander was so loving but so, so ridiculous sometimes. What on Earth was Magnus going to do with his silly, lovely Nephilim?

"You're right," Alec sighed—to himself or the cat, though, Magnus wasn't sure until he continued, said, "I know Magnus can take care of himself, Chair, but… I still worry, you know? How can I _not,_ I just… God, I love him so much, the idea of him being hurt or _worse_ and me not knowing fucking kills me—maybe I should get Jace over here to help me track him, or do you think that's too much?" he asked, looking down to Chairman, though the cat simply blinked up at him, not happy that his nap was being disturbed by Alec's babbling.

Though he was indulging him all the same, curiously.

Magnus squinted his eyes and shifted ever so slightly closer towards Alec and Chairman on the couch, wondering if there was some rune that helped Alec to understand animals, or if Alec was simply projecting his own thoughts onto the cat because he was the only living thing there, as far as Alec knew, and he was worried and lonely.

Perhaps it was both, he thought to himself with some amusement. He would have to find a way to bring it up in conversation at some point, if not with Alec then with Clary or Isabelle.

"Okay, I'll give him a couple more hours, but I _swear_ he owes me for worrying me so much—I will settle for nothing less than either breakfast in bed on our next day off or him taking my last name when we get married. Or both—if I was a smart man I would figure out how to get both out of him," he rambled on to the cat, giving him a small smile that Magnus found mirrored on his own face at the tenderness with which Alec had said it all despite his concern; the way he was looking at the cat; the way he had said _when_ they got married, not if.

Magnus quite liked that idea—the marrying bit, anyway, they would have to discuss the last name bit—but, well, he would have to bring it up at a different time, he supposed.

"I hope he comes home soon," Alec sighed, the smile slipping off his face into one of worry and concern as he reached for his phone again, ignoring the Chairman for a couple moments while he shot off a few more texts, frown on his face all the while that absolutely broke Magnus' heart.

The spell would wear off soon, though, he was sure, and when it did he would kiss Alec for every second he spent worrying about him that night, and hope that that would come close to making up for it.

"No one else has heard from him," Alec muttered, putting his phone back on the couch, both hands moving to the Chairman Meow to pet him, scratching his anxiety out on the cat, who was more than happy to be on the receiving end of it, Magnus was sure.

He spent a few more moments muttering to Chairman, to himself, about Magnus, worried sick over his boyfriend and still not knowing where he was even though he was _right next to him on the couch…_

And then his head was lolling back on the couch, hands stilling on the cat who jumped off his lap as soon as his attention was gone, sleep having taken him even though Magnus was sure he hadn't wanted to fall asleep until he knew his boyfriend was safe and at home. But he looked so fucking drained, so exhausted, that Magnus knew he couldn't help it, and felt all the worse about it.

He stood up from the couch, and stretched his hands out in front of him, half to _actually_ stretch, and half to see if he could, well, see himself just yet, if the spell had worn off or if he was going to have to go and actually break it and then portal to that warlock and have some words with him…

He was very much so thankful when he actually fucking _saw_ his hands, his arms, looked down and could see his legs and the rest of him. It absolutely _figured_ that the spell would wear off as soon as Alec fell asleep.

He looked down on his sleeping boyfriend who, even in his sleep, looked so worried that Magnus couldn't even consider leaving him to sleep through it. Besides, he would be much more comfortable in their _bed._

"Alexander," Magnus said then, sitting down next to him on the couch, gently brushing the hair out of his face and stroking his cheek to try to wake him as easily, as lovingly as possible. He was owed that much at least.

Alec jerked awake at that, a half asleep cry of, "Magnus?" jolting him up on the couch, his sleepy, confused look of worry melting into a smile as Magnus cupped his face, gave him a soft smile of his own.

"Where were you? I was so worried," Alec muttered, moving a hand to grasp at the one on his face, squeezing Magnus' fingers.

"I know, I'm sorry, honey, but it's… a long story, I'll tell you all about it in the morning, I promise. But for now… come to bed with me?" Magnus asked, grasping Alec's hand from his face and standing up slowly, giving him an inviting look as he nodded towards the bedroom.

Alec nodded, still half asleep, and stood up, though he stopped Magnus from pulling him towards the bedroom as soon as he was on his feet. Instead, he leaned in close to kiss Magnus slowly, gently, clumsily in that half asleep way of his that Magnus smiled into, letting his Shadowhunter indulge himself completely for a long moment. Alec had earned this, and if he wanted to stand there for the rest of the night kissing…

Well, Magnus had had a nap earlier anyway, he could do it, absolutely _would_ do it if that was what his Alexander wanted.

Alec, however, still exhausted, pulled back finally with a sigh, leaned his forehead against Magnus', and said, just as softly as he had kissed him, "I love you."

And how Alec could stop the world and put it back together in the same instance with the uttering of three simple words was _beyond_ Magnus completely, but forgive him for not questioning it more. He was simply far too selfish for something like that.

"I love you too, darling, more than you know," Magnus promised, leaning back in to press another kiss to Alec's lips.

When he pulled away that time, Alec looked towards the bedroom, said, "Bed?"

And his voice was so tired, and so soft, that Magnus could only nod before he was turning back around to tug Alec into the bedroom for the night, collapsing with the other instantly.

That asshole warlock was lucky that Magnus had a magnificent boyfriend like Alec who absolutely demanded cuddles for the rest of the night, otherwise he would have had to seek his revenge that night. But that, too, could wait until morning. Everything could wait until morning when Magnus had Alec to keep him in bed.

*.*.*.*.*


End file.
